Chapter 27

Death Forest occupied the largest area and had the greatest number and variety of demonic beasts, making it the most dangerous as well. That was why it had been named Death Forest.

Just then, a broadcast abruptly rang out from the sky.

"Congratulations to candidate Yu Wanyao for successfully taking first place. The Joint Examination Red Ranking will now be updated."

"Congratulations to candidate Yu Wanyao for taking..."

"Congratulations to candidate..."

The broadcast repeated three times before stopping.

At the same time, the Joint Examination Red Ranking screen standing in the safe zone changed.

Yu Wanyao's name, which had been in second place, flashed red and shot straight to first.

The Joint Examination Red Ranking was a translucent screen suspended at the entrance to the safe zone, allowing every candidate entering or leaving to see the rankings clearly.

A candidate who happened to have been teleported near the safe zone widened their eyes slightly at the sight. "She took first place already? Sure enough, no one on the Joint Examination Red Ranking is ordinary."

Chapter 27

Xu Jintang clicked her tongue.

That broadcast was far too conspicuous.

It was fine when someone rose in the rankings, but anyone pushed down from a high position was bound to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Wasn't this blatantly drawing aggro?

Thinking about it now, being late had actually been a good thing.

Because she had been late, she had entered the examination grounds after all the other candidates. But that also meant no one knew what she looked like, so she could keep using her identity as Xu Lanxing.

Xu Jintang gave it no further thought and activated her domain power, spreading its detection effect around her.

After confirming there was no danger nearby, she lightened her footsteps and slowly explored the surrounding area.

She walked for a long time and was just about to stop for a rest when a first-tier demonic beast foolishly lunged at her.

Her gaze instantly turned cold, and she raised her hand to activate her ruby sleeve crossbow.

Several flaming bolts shot toward it.

Her domain power instantly covered the entire area. Before the demonic beast even had a chance to resist, the barrage of bolts brought it down.

After the demonic beast fell, a faint glow appeared around its body. Then a ball of light slowly rose to hover above its corpse.

Xu Jintang got up, walked over, and reached out to touch the ball of light.

[Points +10]

[Total points: 230]

A screen displaying a text notification appeared before her eyes.

The ball of light dissolved into countless tiny specks of light, which swiftly flowed into the points token at Xu Jintang's waist.

Only then did Xu Jintang notice that a jade token had appeared at her waist at some point.

Connecting this with the points notification she had just seen,

she quickly realized what the joint examination's rules were.

Killing demonic beasts earned points, so those points had to be the key factor determining the rankings.

Yu Wanyao had probably risen from second to first just now because she had killed demonic beasts and earned points, changing her ranking.

"So that's how it works," Xu Jintang murmured, rubbing her chin.

A first-tier demonic beast was only worth ten points. That was far too little.

She wondered whether a second-tier demonic beast would be worth a little more.

Something else occurred to Xu Jintang, and she tried putting the points jade token into her bracelet's storage space.

But she failed.

So the points jade token could only be worn on her person.

That was dangerous. What if someone with bad intentions stole her points jade token...

She quickly realized something else.

Besides killing demonic beasts, candidates could probably also gain points by stealing them from other candidates.

After figuring out the joint examination's rules, Xu Jintang stopped wandering aimlessly and began searching the immediate area for demonic beasts to kill.

In just a few hours, she killed six first-tier demonic beasts, gaining another sixty points.

Having spent the entire afternoon immersed in combat, Xu Jintang had reaped considerable rewards.

After she killed several more demonic beasts in succession, the setting sun gradually sank toward the horizon, and night began to fall.

It was getting late, so Xu Jintang stopped hunting.

The forest was most dangerous at night. She had to find somewhere safe to spend the night as soon as possible.

"Little Sister Lanxing! What a coincidence, running into you again!" An excited voice came from behind her.

Xu Jintang paused, then quickly recognized Li Tongfu's voice.

She mustered a smile and turned around. Sure enough, Li Tongfu was approaching with a group of people.

The team led by Li Tongfu had seven members, all unfamiliar faces.

"Little Sister Lanxing, I recognized you from behind a long way off. It's only been two days since we parted. I never thought we'd meet again so soon in the joint examination." Li Tongfu walked over and patted Xu Jintang on the shoulder.

Xu Jintang smiled. "Yes, what a coincidence. Brother Li, who are these people?" She cautiously studied the people behind him.

Li Tongfu hurriedly explained, "Don't be afraid. These are all friends I just met. We're planning to form a group. After all, spending the night alone is pretty dangerous. There's strength in numbers. Why don't you join us?"

While Xu Jintang studied the others, they were observing her as well. Both sides looked cautious.

After considering it for a moment, Xu Jintang smiled. "Of course. I was just worrying about how to spend the night alone."

Visibility was poor in the forest at night, and people grew tired and sleepy. Some demonic beasts were especially likely to launch sneak attacks at such times, so spending the night alone really was dangerous.

"Wonderful! Our team has another new member." Li Tongfu immediately turned around and began introducing Xu Jintang to his new companions.

Only after learning that Xu Jintang was merely a candidate from a lower star region did they relax their guard a little.

Li Tongfu turned back and asked warmly, "Little Sister Lanxing, did you get separated from Brother Tieniu?"

Xu Jintang nodded. "Yes. We haven't run into each other since entering."

"That's all right. Stay with us for now. It'll be safer." Li Tongfu thumped his chest heartily.

Before long, everyone split up to gather branches and wood, then lit a campfire.

A faint light rose from the fire, driving back the surrounding darkness.

Xu Jintang held her hands near the fire to warm them, and before long, she felt her body warming up.

"Little Sister Lanxing, the eight of us will take turns on watch tonight. Two people per group, with four groups rotating. You'll be with me. After we've kept watch for two hours, we'll get the next group to take over." Li Tongfu came over as well and held his hands out beside the fire.

"All right." Xu Jintang nodded.

Keeping watch was boring. Resting her chin in her hand, Xu Jintang idly gazed up at the night sky and began counting stars.

"Little Sister Lanxing, since no one else is around, there are a few important things I want to tell you." Li Tongfu lowered his voice.

Xu Jintang turned her head. "Go ahead, Brother Li."

Li Tongfu said, "You already know about the joint examination rule that killing demonic beasts earns you points, right?"

Xu Jintang nodded. "Yes."

"Let me tell you, there's actually... a hidden rule." Li Tongfu looked around and, seeing no one nearby, continued quietly, "Candidates can steal each other's points too."

Xu Jintang had already figured out this rule and was not particularly surprised, but she played along and put on a startled expression. "You mean..."

Li Tongfu said, "If we get separated later and you encounter candidates you don't know, you must stay alert. The joint examination has only just begun, so candidates don't have many points, and the competition won't be too fierce. But after a few more days, pretty much every candidate will have a fair number of points. Things won't be as peaceful then as they are now."

Killing a first-tier demonic beast took hard work and only earned ten points, but if someone robbed a candidate, any random one would have at least a hundred points.

By comparison, stealing candidates' points was certainly more efficient.

"Understood. Thank you for the warning, Brother Li." Xu Jintang nodded in acknowledgment.

However, she also grew a little more guarded.

Whether this Brother Li was genuinely warmhearted or was trying to gain her trust this way remained to be seen.

"Little Sister Lanxing, are you sleepy? Why don't you go to sleep? I can keep watch alone," Li Tongfu said with concern.

Xu Jintang shook her head, dispelling the drowsiness in her mind. "No need. There's only another hour before the next shift."

Li Tongfu smiled helplessly, stood up, and pushed Xu Jintang toward the tents. "Go get some rest. There's only an hour left. I can manage on my own."

Li Tongfu had brought both tents in his bracelet's storage space.

They were spacious enough for eight or nine people to sleep in at once, and there were different sleeping bags inside.

Having two tents meant the men and women could sleep separately, with one tent for the women and one for the men.

Sensing how much Li Tongfu wanted her to rest, Xu Jintang stopped insisting and nodded. "Then I'll go to sleep first. Thank you for keeping watch alone, Brother Li."

With that, she lifted the tent flap and stepped inside.

Inside the women's tent, all three occupants were sleeping soundly.

The noise Xu Jintang made as she entered attracted no one's attention.

She found a sleeping bag, crouched beside it, and silently observed the three sleeping women.

Although someone was keeping watch, they were still in the wilderness, surrounded by demonic beasts. Normally, people would remain somewhat alert rather than sleep so deeply.

Xu Jintang pressed her lips together and quickly realized something was wrong.

She quietly activated her mental power, and her domain's detection power swiftly spread outward, just encompassing both tents.

She saw Li Tongfu sneak into the men's tent next door. Bending over, he tiptoed to a teammate's side, carefully picked up that teammate's points jade token, and swiped it against his own.

Immediately afterward, a smile appeared on Li Tongfu's face, and he crushed the jade token.

The still-sleeping teammate slowly vanished from the tent.

In the joint examination's simulated battlefield, one way to eliminate a candidate was to kill them. Another was to crush their points jade token.

Xu Jintang frowned, her gaze gradually turning cold.

She pulled over the sleeping bag beside her, closed her eyes, and leaned against it, pretending to be asleep.